Silvie yawned and stretched, then frowned at the odd feeling in her arms.  She looked to her left, and saw nothing but feathers.  No arm, just a wing.  “Oh.  That wasn’t a dream?”

“Wark.”

She sat up abruptly in bed, to find an oversized duck snuggled up to her side.  “Harold?”

“Kvack!”

Silvie frowned at an echo in her mind.  “Oh, you’re okay?  Want to stay like this for a few days?”

“Wark wark!”

“And you still have that...”

The duck managed to smirk.

“Awesome.”

A voice chimed from the bedside table, “So you two are good?  Moon sets before long, it’s time for your winnings to go home.”

Silvie started, then giggled.  “Oh!  That part was real too.  Cool.”  She surveyed her body.  White-feathered wings instead of arms.  Long, sinuous neck.  Scaly legs leading to webbed but prehensile feet.  “Yeah, I’ll manage until this fades.”

“Doesn’t have to.  I can add programmed obsolescence, or make it permanent.”

“Oooh, tempting.  Yes please.”

“Harold?”

“Wark warkidy wark wark.”

“Three days?  Sure, you’ll pop back to normal during the night.  Has to be while the moon is up.”

“Wark warkle?”

“I can leave a souvenir, sure.  Has to hide under your clothes, though.”

The duck blushed, then warked affirmatively.

“Eeee!  Thank you, Dia!” cheered Silvie.

“You two have fun.  More fun,” Dia chuckled.  Then she sparkled and disappeared.

Silvie pulled her sweetie-duck close.  “You’re the best.”

“Wark wark wark.”

“But where did the watermelon come from?”

*** *** ***

“You’re home late,” groused Sidney.

“Sorry, love.  Gwen thought it amusing to make us the table stakes for Crazy Eights.”

“Hmf.  Did you bring back any eclairs?”

Duncan snapped his fingers.  “Have now.  Magic ones.  Non-fattening, and they won’t go off.”

“Mmm.  You’re the best.”  Sidney rolled over and was back to sleep in moments.

*** *** ***

As usual, the day or two after a full Moon night took some adjustments.  Duncan was fine, but Dia was uncharacteristically quiet.  Sidney was happy enough that “the others” were out of the way, and very much enjoyed spending a little time as an eclair.

While Duncan was at work on Tuesday, Dia called on Doctor Sakurai early in the morning, shortly before moonset.  Dia prowled around the office for some time as a catgirl, but still couldn’t decide if they wanted to stay that way.

“It’s a work in progress,” soothed Arwen.  “Maybe if you could get out a little...”

Dia sighed gustily.  “Can’t.  Stupid censorship.  We would totally go for a run, but...”  They looked pensive for a moment.  “We could run at Ray’s.  Or Dave’s, for that matter.”

Arwen made a note.  “Mentioning Dave makes you smile.  Why?”

“Oh, that’s going to be such fun.  He’s inviting his sweetie for a date with magic, and hoping she’ll let us turn her into a snakegirl.”

Arwen shook her head slowly.  “That seems unlikely to work out.  Not many would be as happy with such a shape as Duncan is.  How is that working out?”

“Great, really great.  Your ideas on making RoboDuncan read masculine really worked.  Sidney wasn’t a fan of the shapeshifty gender stuff with RoboDuncan, so Duncan stopped using it, and we tossed that this month.  Added some shiftiness to her snakegirl body so that ... well, maybe you should ask Duncan and Sidney about how that’s going for them.”

“That good, hm?”

Dia giggled.  “Yeah.  Sidney still isn’t entirely over her scare with getting stuck as a ‘monster’, but she has seen the upside of having a Duncan to cuddle while he’s at work.”

“I imagine that’d be somewhat distracting.”

“He’s used to splitting his attention, and we help filter things when he can’t.”  Dia sighed happily.  “We’ve pretended to be him a few times.  I don’t think Sidney falls for it, but sometimes she plays along.”

“Do you like having human contact, then?”

Dia stopped prowling and sat in one of the comfortable chairs in Arwen’s office.  They were quiet for a time, curled up and pondering the question.  “We have enjoyed the job at the Crimson Kitten.  More than we thought possible when you recommended it.  Is there more?  Yes.”

“Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want.  There may not be many that really understand you, but those that do...”

Dia smiled at her brilliantly.  “Thanks, Doc.  Gonna go pounce Donna and Gwen.”

“That’s not precisely what I meant.”  Arwen sighed.  Dia had already vanished.  “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Gwen yawned and blinked at the catgirl who’d appeared in her apartment.  “Hey Dia.  Coffee?”

“We don’t need coffee.  You shouldn’t, either.”

Gwen shrugged.  “Spent three decades human, old habits.”  She poured a second mug full of coffee and offered it to Dia.  “Try it.”

Dia took one sip, wrinkled her muzzle comically, then set the mug down.  “Not for us.  Duncan never cared for it either, I suppose that carried over.”

Gwen nodded, studying the crystal-furred catgirl in front of her as she took a sip.  “Fair enough.  So.  To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?  Usually you’re off...”  Gwen frowned.  “What do you do when the Moon isn’t in the sky?”

“Very little,” sighed Dia.  “Wait for the Moon to rise, mostly.  Shifts at the Crimson Kitten, if they come up.  We unnerve Sidney, though the kids are nice, and we’ll play sometimes.”

“Sounds lonely.  I thought...  I mean, Donna’s practically my cat these days, did you...”

“Cat?” asked Dia.

A purple-furred feline prowled into the kitchen and twined around Gwen’s legs.  Donna was bigger than a housecat, nearer to a panther in size, but still managed to look cute.  Donna purred happily as Gwen scratched her between the ears.

“Ah.  Knows what she wants, does she?”

“Yeah.  Touch matters.”  Gwen smiled at Dia.  “Did you come here for a hug?  All you have to do is ask.”

“May we?” asked Dia softly.  “Hug you.  Or her.  Or both.”

“Do we have another stray?” asked another voice from the bedroom door.  Ettie was wearing a serpentine body with a rainbow stripes running down her body.  Tentacles instead of arms sprouted from her shoulders, each tipped with a snake’s head.

“Maybe this one will help with the dishes,” giggled Gwen.  She opened her arms, offering a hug, and both Ettie and Dia approached.  Gwen swept them both into a hug.  “The more the merrier, right?”

“More is good.  You need company when I shut down, and it’s not fair to ask them to go away when I am here.  You have lots of love to share.”

Gwen kissed Ettie’s snout.  “Thanks, love.  I think Dia needs this more than I do.”

Ettie booped her muzzle against Dia’s snout.  “Then you are welcome here as long as you wish to stay.”

Dia leaked a few shimmering tears.  “Thank you.”

*** *** ***

A little while after Duncan got home, Agent Mackie called.  Duncan sighed softly, snuggled up around Courtney with her coils, then switched bodies to take the call as RoboDuncan.  Sidney flashed him an appreciative smile as she handed over the phone.

“Yep, what can I do for... oh, right.  Still female.  Hah.  Forgot for a bit.  Any word on the no-fly list?”  Duncan sighed.  “Fair enough.  So what can I...  Donna and Dia are literally right next door to you.”

Duncan chuckled at the reply.  “I suppose you do know where I live.  Why not just ring the doorbell?”  A pause.  “Ah, yes, some of my uninvited guests have ended up transformed one way or another.  I suppose you and Cherry both count, though it wasn’t the uninvited part that caused it.”

Duncan strode to the door and opened it, waving to the occupants of a black SUV parked out front.

Soon “Mackenzie” and Cherry were seated in the living room.  Mackie was wearing a very flattering calf-length dress, and Cherry was dressed like she was ready for a rave... or a night at the Blue Vixen.  “I do hope this interview will be more peaceful than the first one,” chuckled Duncan.

“Neither of us are armed.  And you’d have already dealt with it if we were.”

Duncan shrugged.  “Moon isn’t up quite yet, but... yeah, if you’d tried anything I have more than a few toys that don’t care about that.  Many of them are nonlethal.”

Mackie sighed.  “Do I need to file another report about new weapon systems?”

Duncan looked upward.  “Um...  I suppose the plasma soliton gun is new.  Haven’t had a chance to test it at full scale, think the range has recovered from last time?”

Mackie laughed delightfully.  “I’ll ask.  Next week.  I’m taking the rest of the week off.”

“Do you want to stay like this?”

Mackie nodded.  “Yeah.  I’ve been shopping with Cherry and she’s letting me borrow part of her closet.”

“Sounds like you’re planning a longer stay than a week.”

Mackie’s face froze.  “Oh.  Uh...  Oh wow.  You’d... what am I saying, of course you would.  Just... just the week, for now.  It’d be weird trying to work like this.”

Duncan pulled a card out of his wallet, and handed it to Mackie.  “Talk to Doctor Sakurai.  She knows what I can do, and has helped a lot of people understand what they want to be.”

Mackie smiled as she took the card, and tucked it into her purse.  “That sounds like a really good idea.  The last few days have been such fun, I couldn’t have imagined...”

“Bail on the day job and join me at the club?” offered Cherry with a braying laugh.  “Once you’ve gotten familiar with your new body, I’ll bet you can dance just fine.”

“No bet,” sighed Mackie.  “You saw me at the club last night.”

“I saw an uncertain woman take her first steps into a wonderful new world.  I think she’ll do fine.”

“If she wants to,” said Duncan firmly.  “No pressure either way, okay?”

Cherry crossed her arms defensively.  “Fine.”

Duncan smiled at her.  “Hey, where’d the neon arms go, anyway?”

“Gwen whipped up a couple different sets.  These ones look and feel like the real thing, plus I’ve got some that look like I stole ‘em from the new kid, all chrome and shiny red.  They rock.”

“Prosthetics that look real?” asked Mackie.  “Are they tech, or magic?”

“Tech,” said Duncan and Cherry at the same time.

Mackie groaned.  “More paperwork...”

“Bah, better than the usual crap.  At least these are interesting.”

“Fair.”

*** *** ***

As usual, the work week eventually let out to the weekend, and Duncan had extra reason to look forward to this one.  He’d been invited to be the ‘snake of temptation’ at a particularly lavish and private picnic, and was hoping that things would go well.

Sidney found the whole thing boggling, unable to wrap her mind around the idea that someone might love snakes quite that much.  Still, she could tell that Duncan was eager to go.  Duncan promised to leave RoboDuncan around to help out, and Dia offered to mind the kids by occupying Unit Jade if needed.  Sidney demurred on the offer, until Duncan suggested Dia could be one of their plush toys instead.

Dia accepted a hug from Duncan before she left.  “Thanks.  Appreciate this.”

“Any time.  I suspect you’d be welcome here as a plush whenever you’d like some attention.”

“Might take you up on that when Gwen and Ettie get busy...”

Duncan chuckled.  “You find that uncomfortable?”

Dia shrugged fuzzy purple shoulders.  “Not... exactly.  They’ve made it clear we are welcome, and yet...  Donna fits in.  We don’t.”

“Do you want to fit in?”

“Yes!” was Dia’s immediate answer.  “But Gwen’s relationship is not the place we fit.”

“Where do you fit?”

Dia slumped.  “We do not know.”

“Yet.”

Dia flashed Duncan a smile.  “Thanks.  Now go have fun with Creepy Dave and his date.”

Duncan set the purple teddybear down next to Victor.  “As you command.”  A moment later, her snaky body shrank from sight, and she flashed through the air invisibly toward Dave’s estate.

Duncan found Dave supervising two servants who were laying out good linen and silverware on a beautifully made wrought-iron table in a grassy field ringed by poplar trees.  She grew to barely visible size experimentally, and giggled merrily as she realized that true to his word, the space was entirely private.  She grew to perceptible size, still grinning, and bowed midair to Dave and his surprised servants.

Dave grinned.  “It’s okay, she’s a guest.”

“Very well, sir.”

Ducan grew to full size and landed beside Dave, watching as flowers were set in two vases on the table.  “Going all out?”

“Hm?  No, just a nice picnic in the field.”

Duncan laughed softly.  “Nice.  You really do live a different sort of life.”

Dave shrugged.  “Nothing wrong with liking nice things.”

“There’s nice, and there’s making it look like a five star dining experience in a pasture.”

“And I am trying to impress someone who I want to ask a very odd question of.”

“Point taken.  How can I help?  Need some snaky statuary to inspire conversation?”

Dave smiled.  “I wouldn’t say no to a giant snake curled up over... hm.  Louis, where would a snake fit the scene best?”

“I should think under the apple tree would be apropos.”

Duncan laughed again.  “Tempting.  How big?”

“Big enough to make it clear something unnatural is going on.  I do not think Jessie knows of magic yet.”

Duncan slithered over to the indicated apple tree, and started to grow.  She let her upper body slide away as she did so, smoothing out into a serpent’s body as her head lost all humanity.  Once she was done, an enormous snake lay curled around the tree, piled as high as the branches, entirely obscuring the trunk.  She looked to be easily a hundred feet long, and nearly three thick for much of her glittering green and gold coils.

Dave watched in slack-mouthed awe.  “Can you go even bigger?” he asked softly.

“Easily.  But I think this is enough,” hissed Duncan.  “I wouldn’t want to steal the scene.”

Duncan settled in, going silent and still as her glittering eyes watched the rest of the preparation.  Before long, a woman in a well-tailored jacket and riding breeches approached.  Jessie smiled at Dave, and sat to the table, accepting Louis’ assistance with the chair as if it was second nature.

It was only after the wine had been poured that she glanced around and noticed Duncan.  Her response was a single arched eyebrow.  “Interesting decor.  I knew you were a fan of snakes, but such a sculpture?  Won’t it damage the tree?”

Duncan flickered her tongue and winked at Jessie.  That got the other eyebrow.  “Not a sculpture?”

“No.”

The soup arrived then, and the two attended to it unhurriedly.  Once they were done, and the bowls cleared away, Jessie returned her gaze to Duncan.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a snake that large.  What are you up to?”

“Introducing you to a friend.”

Jessie laughed warmly.  “Only you would call a snake friend.”

Two delicately roasted quail were served to the table, and the conversation again ceased for a time.  Jessie set her silverware down on the plate.  “I do hope your friend isn’t too hungry.  I don’t think a tiny bird like these would even brush the sides.”

Dave chuckled softly.  “She transcends such minor inconveniences.”

Another eyebrow lift.  “She?  Are you intending to date a snake?  And if so, why am I here?”

“Yes, I would love to, and to see if you are interested.”

“Interested in?  You’re being far too mysterious.”

“I thought women appreciated a little mystery.”

Jessie mulled that as she nibbled on a selection of cheeses.  When the sorbet was served, she studied Duncan as she ate.

“Your unusual friend is part of the mystery,” she declared after the last dish had been cleared.  “Is it safe to approach her?”

“Perfectly.”

Jessie walked toward the snake with a confident tread, though as she got close enough to truly appreciate Duncan’s scale her pace faltered.  “Are you sure?  It looks like she could swallow me in a single bite.”

“I would never,” hissed Duncan softly.  “Unless you asked very nicely first.”

Jessie slapped her thigh and laughed.  “So the stories are true!”

This time it was Duncan’s turn to raise an arched eyebrow.  “Stories?”

“About mystery and magic at a certain nightclub Dave is known to frequent.  No natural snake could grow so large, and your talking confirms it.”

“You are very quick on the uptake,” hissed Duncan softly.  “I like it.”

“So glad you approve,” chuckled Dave.  “Jessie, this snake is my friend Duncan.  Could you show her the shape you arrived in?”

Duncan obligingly returned her head and arms to their normal shape and place, and added a few modest curves besides... that at her present scale, were rather immodest indeed.  It amused Duncan to see Jessie’s eyes finally register something akin to surprise.

“You make a very large woman.”

“Too big?” asked Duncan, a playful smile on her lips.

“I’m going to get a crick in my neck talking to you.”

Duncan lowered herself, pressing the grass flat with her enormous chest and putting her head mostly on the same level as Jessie’s.  “Better?”

“You like being this big.  But you don’t have to be.”

Duncan bobbed her head.  “Not a lot of places I can stretch out.  Can’t show magic in public, and even being visibly transformed counts against it.  Annoying.”

“Imagine the panic at seeing something like you on the city streets, though,” mused Jessie.  “There’d have to be some kind of limit.”

“I suppose,” sighed Duncan.  “I should prefer a slightly looser one than now.”  She slowly dwindled until her scale matched her companions. This still left her some thirty feet of snake-tail below the hips.

Jessie looked from Duncan to Dave.  “And this is your idea of the perfect woman, I suppose?”

“Yes.  But Duncan’s married.”

Jessie grinned.  “Ah!  So you want me to be a snakegirl.”

“That was easier than expected,” mused Dave.

“Upside, you look at me like that.  Downside... not ever going out in public.”

“There are ways around that,” noted Duncan.

“Truly?  Still, if I were to be half animal... I’d much rather be a centaur.”

“Ah,” sighed Dave.

“That could be part of the deal.”

Jessie grinned.  “Cool.  Done.  What do I need to do?”

Duncan tossed her a golden belt.  “Put this where you’d like the dividing point to be.”

“Between me and the horse or the snake.  Hm...”  Jessie wriggled the belt up over her leggings, then settled it just above the hips.  “Done.  Now what?”

“What would you like your horse half to look like?”

“Oh, I’d like to look like my favourite, Bella.  She’s a lovely arabian mare.”

“The one whose hair is stuck to your leggings?”

“Just so.”

A chestnut horse spun into existence from the hooves up, one with a dark flowing mane, and a golden disc where its neck would be.  It stood perhaps four feet at the shoulders.

“A bit small, isn’t she?”

“Well, it has to scale to fit you.  There’s a catch on the back of your belt, see if you can...”

Jessie was already feeling for it, and a moment later her hips were separated.  She wasted no time transferring herself to the centaur body, then laughed.  “Oh!  This is wonderful.  Can I go for a run while you make the snake one?”

“Of course.”

While Jessie was kicking up her heels and tearing up the meadow, Duncan discussed scale patterns and size with Dave.  A mottled brown and black snake body was ready for Jessie when she returned, and she eagerly hopped onto it.  “Oooh.  This feels strong in its own way.  Like I could crush a man to death and barely feel it.”

“You probably could at that,” chuckled Duncan.  “There’s just one thing I need your agreement on.”

“Hm?  Oh, Dave probably wants to fuck me like this.  Yeah, set that up.”

Duncan snorted.  “Damn.  Fast and sassy.  You’ll have your hands full.”

“Indeed.”

“Okay, we don’t have a huge amount of time left.  So, quick question.  Does this work for you?  Kinda have to make the call today before the Moon sets, or it’ll all fade away starting tomorrow.  I can make this permanent, if you like.”

“I assume you don’t mean permanent in the never change again sense, yes?”

Duncan nodded.  “Magic would still work to reshape you.  But this three-way modular setup would be the new you.”

“Do it.”

Duncan focussed for a moment to draw on the storage crystal back at her house, then on smoothing out her work on Jessie.  “And done.  Have fun, you two.”

“Aww, you’re not staying?  We could have a good slither, tease Dave...  You have to show me how these bodies work.”

Duncan bowed her head.  “As the lady wishes.”

“Oh, I’m no lady.  You’d both best be learning that right off the bat.”

Duncan smirked.  “Neither am I.  We should get along just fine.”

Snake-races through the garden led to a game of hide-and-go-seek through the estate, and long before they were done the Moon had set.  Duncan sighed once she realized that.

“Tired of our games already?”

“Ah, no.  Just going to be tricky getting this body home without magic.”

“I have a blacked-out van for just that purpose,” said Dave.

“That body?” asked Jessie.  “You’re modular too?”

“Not in the same sense.  I have several bodies I can inhabit via a sort of crystal-driven telepresence.  So I can be home in an instant, but I’d end up leaving a snake-girl lying about the garden here.”

“I have no objection to this plan,” said Dave with a comically serious expression.

“Wouldn’t you get cold?” asked Jessie.  “I’m sure Dave has a room you could borrow for the night.”

Dave nodded, and led the way to an entrance.  “Of course.  There are seven guest rooms currently unoccupied.  You’re welcome here as long as you like.”

Jessie and Duncan slithered inside, and Jessie chuckled at a thought.  “I suppose walking around inside as a centaur wouldn’t work so well.  Hard on the floors.”

“And you’d stand tall enough to smack your head on most doorways,” noted Duncan.

“Hm.  I am starting to see the appeal.”

Dave squealed in a very unmanly fashion.  “Truly?”

Jessie blew Duncan a kiss.  “Go find one of those rooms, would you?”

Duncan wished them both well, and did so.